Investing in Japan

Japanese individual investors saying no thank you to JGBs

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:13:19 +0000

The Mainichi Shimbun (original in Japanese) reported early Thursday that Japanese Government Bonds’ (JGBs) popularity is rapidly falling among individual investors. Beginning in 2003, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has sold two types of JGBs (a fixed-rate 5-year and a variable-rate 10-year) four times a year to individual investors. However, as interest rates have [...]

Domestic and overseas factors a plenty for Japan

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:49:02 +0000

More often than not, it is overseas factors that have the largest influence on trading in Japan. However, from time to time there is enough commotion domestically that also warrants the attention of investors. Unfortunately, the cacophony coming out of the government these days is more concerning than usual (e.g. Japan Post management/reform, debt moratorium, [...]

Relief for Japanese exporters?

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:41:38 +0000

This brief post was inspired by a Bloomberg story on Asian currency strength — a good read, by the way. My thoughts: an even stronger Korean won would bring some relief to Japanese exporters. However, it’s not clear just how much (for instance, consider the volume of autos sold by JP vs SK) with such [...]

Global Central Bank Rates - October 16, 2009

admin — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:01:15 +0000

Global central bank rates (Brazil 8.75%, South Africa 7.0%, Mexico 4.5%, Australia 3.25%, New Zealand 2.5%, ECB 1.0%, UK 0.5%, USA 0.25%, Canada 0.25%, Switzerland 0.25%, Japan 0.11%) as of October 16, 2009. See chart image below. [Source: Bloomberg; Central Bank web sites]

Top Foreign Holders of U.S. Treasuries

admin — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:25:40 +0000

Below is an extract of the latest data from the U.S. Treasury concerning foreign holders of U.S. Treasuries (year-to-date through the end of August). At least for now, the fear of foreigners dumping Treasuries can be allayed, although it is clear there is some month-month volatility from a key buyer (see the figures for Mainland [...]

Upcoming talks at Japan Society New York

admin — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:53:07 +0000

For those in the area, below is a list of upcoming talks hosted by Japan Society New York. Click the respective link for additional information and for registration. Oct. 20 Financial Reporting Reliability & Transparency: Activities of FASB & the ASBJ during the Financial Crisis Oct. 27 Boeing & Japan: A Strategic Partnership for 21st-Century [...]

Knuckleheaded Nomura

admin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:08:20 +0000

The latest and largest equity dilution — approx. $5.6B; 30% s/o — by Nomura (JP: 8604) (NMR: 7.04 -0.98%) has sent its shares down 16% to ¥573 in Tokyo ($6.35 at ¥90.3/$1) following an earlier rout in NY. I think the stock has further to fall, given that it was saved by its daily loss-limit [...]

Shanghai selloff overshadows DPJ, Nikkei

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:22:30 +0000

The DPJ’s rise (and the LDP’s fall) is no longer debate material, but a welcome reality. As expected, the yen exhibited strength, and looks poised to test ¥92. The Nikkei meanwhile was quite volatile, gapping up, hitting a new ytd high at 10,767, tumbling into the start of the afternoon session to a low of [...]

Strong yen the new norm as Japan poised to reform?

admin — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:25:00 +0000

Interesting developments in the Nikkei ahead of the parliamentary election at the end of this month, which at this point looks as if it will finally bring an end to LDP rule. A foreign exchange rate of $1/¥94 would have been practically inconceivable prior to the “Lehman shock” (as the Japanese refer to the genesis [...]

The perils of overcapacity in Japan

admin — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:18:38 +0000

“Recession ends in Japan,” and headlines to that effect portray a different picture than the real one on the streets. In fact, despite the headline rebound in GDP, propping open the hood shows that the outlook for Japan is a return to status quo, little to nil export-driven growth at best, and raises the likelihood [...]